Cole Koreon
Cole Koreon is a fictional character in the Scars of Time universe, who plays an important role as an advisor, engineer and Aspectologist to Ranna's group during the second season. He is the only character in the group able to manipulate Aspects, as well as the only member of the group who dies during the main quest. Background Cole Koreon was born to Michael and Melissa Koreon in the small village of Alderidge where he was raised for most of his younger years. He was a bright and hyperactive child who attended school, although he never exceeded in classes despite his intelligence. He found that he had little incentive and urge to work during lessons, and would instead focus entirely on taking machines apart and rebuilding them. It was at this early age that he discovered a great passion for machinery, and this was compounded when he discovered that he was able to control Aspects of Flame, finding that flames on a candle in his bedroom would respond to him (flickering towards him as if a magnet to the flame). After a great deal of research Cole became the only boy in Alderidge capable of creating flames from the natural Aspects in the atmosphere, and he once more spent his time between machinery and learning how to increase his control over fire. When not working on these two practices he would spend time with his best friend, Shion Alsedo. The two became fast friends during their first year of school, and as the school house in Alderidge only served eighteen or so children in the small village, he and Shion spent a great deal of time together. Often making mischief, the two boys became infamous around the village for dabbling in minor harassment of the locals, although they were forgiven as they were cheeky enough to get away with it. Cole's parents, being Innkeepers, were respected and Cole was often let off the hook, although Shion's parents were often more strict in their punishments. At age 7 they met Rhea, a local girl who the two became friends with, who later served as a romantic interest to Cole, although nothing developed from it other than friendship. At age 10 the boys, whilst exploring the mountain range north bordering Alderidge, discovered a wounded dragon mother sheltering her egg. Although Cole was frightened they took the egg and protected it as the mother died from her injuries, perhaps from hunters. When the egg hatched they named the young female dragon Scarlet and kept her safe in an old dis-used barn in the village. This dragon later served as Shion's mount during his career as a Dragon Rider. At age 15 Cole's family informed him that they would be moving, as they were losing money from the Inn during the war with Alvasta, as nobody was visiting Alderidge for leisure as they once had. He was forced to move to the Capital and say his goodbyes to Shion. Upon arriving in the Capital of Sparda, Cole attended The College of Engineering and quickly excelled in his classes, becoming a reknowned engineer and hired by the government to develop minor machinery for them with a team of others. At age 18 he attended the University of Aspectry in the Capital and once more excelled in his studies, receiving the highest possible honour. Now with two certified degrees, Cole was hired by Sparda himself to develop a new form of weapon to use against Alvasta, powered by Aspects and requiring complex formulas to understand and deploy. Cole spent the next six years of his life developing this machine, finally putting it to use during the events at the beginning of Season 2 when his missile attack destroys the Griffin Academy. Significance to Storyline (Season 2) In Season 2 Cole serves as a protagonist to the group when Ranna arrives in Garuuz. He initially dislikes the Alvastans, having seen his country torn apart by the war with the enemy nation. His distrust lasts for a period of time within the story, although he is forced to guide Ranna on her quest by Emperor Sparda himself. Cole serves as comic relief during the second Season, especially when paired up with Shion, and can often be seen as the spiritual successor to Aerin from the previous Season, now that Aerin has matured. In Season 2 Cole is working directly for Sparda and has just finished fine-tuning the lastest in missile projectiles to be used against Alvasta. He has also reunited with Shion Alsedo from his childhood, who conveniently works for Sparda too as General of the Dragon Riders. The two are still good friends, and both accompany Ranna on her journey. Cole is often the brains of the group, having a cohesive knowledge of not only machinery and Aspects, but also the world and locations that the group visit. He sometimes comes off as over-confident in his information, and Quince dislikes him and points this out often. When Cole eventually does begin to open up to Ranna and the Alvastans he treats her like a little sister, protecting her and offering her impartial advice about sex and how she should respond when Callous becomes an enemy. He is known for developing a series of other machinery around the world, including the Waterwheel on the Pirate Trade Centre (PTC) and a bridge leading from Yenon to Eastern Garuuz. During his time in the group Cole shows himself to be a humerous, kind character who wants to see the end of the war. His death comes as a suprise, although he manages to save Garuuz in giving his life - when Soviel summons The Void with his powers extracted from the Griffins, Cole uses The Ametrine given to him by Sparda to seal it away. However, this requires the group to fly deep into the heart of the void, during which point Cole is trapped when the group attempt to flee after using The Ametrine. He manages to hold The Void off long enough for the others, and Garuuz, to be safe when it implodes on itself, but Cole is caught in the blast and killed. Although he doesn't play a huge part in the story, he serves as being an amusing, beneficial character to the group who illustrates the harsh reality of Soviel's dominion in his death. Connection to other Characters *'Shion Alsedo' - Shion is Cole's best friend, and they have been together since a very young age. They consider each other to be practically related as brothers, and they always agree on what should be done next. *'Ranna Forena' - Initially disliked by Cole, but eventually becoming a source of affection for him, he and Ranna become friends during the Second Season. *'Emperor Sparda' - Cole works loyally for the Emperor and obeys his every command, in the hopes that Garuuz can be saved. *'Rhea Voldar' - Cole begins to develop an attraction to her during his teenage years, but nothing develops from it after she becomes romantically linked with Shion. Reception Cole Koreon has been well received by critics, who deem him to be a down-played male character who throws in intelligence in a time of woe and adds competitive but brotherly friendship with Shion Alsedo. He is credited for being a character who isn't over-powered even with his Aspectry, and the fact that he rarely uses his ability over fire in combat and instead uses it in intelligent ways is also given merit. His death has been debated over, but it seems to be a good choice and the authors have stated: 'Cole was a good character to RP as, but we didn't want him to be in the story for too long. We kind of wanted him to serve his purpose and then die to add a tragic element to the otherwise death-free story from the main group. It was either keep a needless character after the Void scene, or present a necessary death to emphasise the need to destroy Soviel and end his brutality.' His appearance and lifestyle have also been credited, as he is remarked on numerous occasions as being over-weight and podgy, although he justifies that this is because he is a 'cuddle machine' Trivia *Cole has an abnormally large manhood, measuring at 11 inches. *On several occasions he has shown an interest in Ranna when he tries to convince her to leave Callous and look for somebody else. *There has been speculation over his relationship with Shion Alsedo, hinting that perhaps the two of them are too close. *His surname 'Koreon' is hinted at in Shion's son Kore, the first four letters taken as a tribute to his best friend. *Cole is seen as a cameo in numerous other Roleplays - in Celesti he has been seen as a barman who has been described as 'familiar, with red hair and an above-average sized body'; in Grey he was a mercenary leader and in The Successor there is a husky dog found on the streets of Damascus called Cole.